Apparently in IRS-land it makes sense to distribute it based on last 2 digits of SSN. That is just so something they WOULD come up with. (I want to know, is that based on my or my husband's SSN? We're in different groups!)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Oh, I'm pretty sure it's him since he's the "primary" (only) wage earner. It's just not clear from their release. It makes a week difference in when we get it, though.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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It's by the SSN of the first person listed on the return. And I agree, last two digits seems silly, but that's what they did last time as well.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Originally what I heard was that they were going to do it in order of when people filed their taxes-- which made more sense to me.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Doing it by the last numbers of the SSN instead of the first prevents any accusations of regional favoritism I suppose.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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We have already gotten our federal money, having filed early. (Actually that seems odd now I think about it. But there's certainly a deposit from 'US Treasury' for the right amount in our bank account.) So are we going to get another one?
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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At least I had direct deposit for my refund. That means I'll be getting mine in May instead of July.
Posts: 1214 | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Apparently in IRS-land it makes sense to distribute it based on last 2 digits of SSN.
Why are people saying it's silly to do this based on last 2 digits of SSN? Assuming the capability does not exist to do it all at the same time, what method would be better than using the last 2 digits of the SSN?
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Well, based on when you filed your return sounded reasonable to me. I don't REALLY have a problem, it just seems... kinda silly, I guess.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Using when you file your return has two problems:
1.) It's unknown now what the distribution time would be, because they don't know when people will file returns. There are benefits to publishing dates now to establish expectations.
2.) When you file your return is not a flat distribution. SSN either is evenly distributed (which I would expect) or any non-evenness is known and can be accommodated in setting the schedule.
It's not that I think you have a problem with it. I just don't understand what could be silly about it.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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It just seems silly. Like when Emma used to laugh at the word jicama when she was really little. No real reason-- it just strikes me as silly.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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(Oh, and the article I saw speculating on that DID have dates. I think, actually, it was based on when your initial refund was processed. So if your refund was processed in Feb., it would be there by May, etc.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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I'm afraid I'm not certain I understand, so I want to be clear on this.
The economic stimulus package is a dollar amount that I get this year from the federal government, but I'm going to have to pay it back with next year's taxes (either because I will get a smaller refund, or no refund at all)?
Huh....I guess I'll put it into a CD or something...
edit: I just looked on the IRS Web Page to see if there was more information. It says:
quote: What is it? It's an economic stimulus payment that more than 130 million households will receive starting in May. It's not taxable, and it won't reduce your 2007 or 2008 refund or increase the amount you owe when you file your 2008 return.
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No, you won't have to pay it back. And if you should have qualified for more because you make more this year than last or something, I do believe they've said they'll give it to you with next year's refund (though they may have changed their minds on that too.)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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We will be making more this year, since my wife will be in her first full year with a real teacher job (this last calendar year, she only got paid for 4 months plus some peanuts she earned as a grad assistant -- are peanuts considered taxable income?)
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Basing it on the last two digits makes perfect sense to me - it's fair, it's predictable, it's evenly distributed, and it's information easily found by both the IRS and the recipients.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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My parents get no child credit because the three of us are over 18. We get no stimulus checks because, as college students, someone can claim us as dependents (it doesn't matter if anyone does, only that someone could, apparently).
I'm wondering where the logic is in that. If you want to stimulate the economy, you probably should make sure that college students get some extra money.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I believe the logic is that when it is a "tax rebate," it generally goes to those who pay taxes.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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quote:Funny enough, plenty of those college students have jobs and pay taxes.
Most get it all back already unless they are working fulltime at a job above minimum wage, so they pay in the meantime, but not much (if any) net.
Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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Wait...so being a college student and paying taxes this means the rebate doesn't apply to me? If that is true why did I get that letter from the IRS this past weekend explaining what the Stimulus was and how much one should receive?
Posts: 106 | Registered: Nov 2007
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Ok, I will have to find out if my parent's claimed me as a dependent I guess. Can they claim me if I'm over 18? Sorry for all the questions. This tax stuff just goes right over my head.
Posts: 106 | Registered: Nov 2007
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It doesn't actually matter if they did claim you, I don't think-- only if they can.
They can claim you if you're over 18, under most circumstances. (You're not married or over 25, are you?)
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Nope, not married and not over 25. Oh well. I didn't really lose anything anyway, because I never had the stimulus to begin with.
Posts: 106 | Registered: Nov 2007
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Those are not the only requirements of being claimed as a dependent - they also need to be paying more than 50% of your expenses. You can file on your own earlier than 25 if you truly are on your own.
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(Since she implied she was a student I was assuming she was asking about students, and that her parents paid some of her expenses/tuition. )
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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Yep I'm a freshman in college. So I'm still heavily relying on my parents although I feel kinda bad doing that. I'm an "adult" by the law and should be able to take care of myself. But hey, I'll get there eventually. But still the gov handing out money is pretty cool.
Posts: 106 | Registered: Nov 2007
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Is this rebate something that is automatic? We have friends who are in their 70s, and they got a letter from the government they had to fill out and send back to get the rebate.
We never got a letter, however we filed our taxes early and already got our return electronically.
Does this mean I will just get the rebate electronically (like the article suggests), or do I need to mail in additional info?
From the article it seems I will get it automatically. Our friends owned a small business they sold, so I am thinking they had to do something special. But I am a little confused.
Posts: 2445 | Registered: Oct 2004
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If you filed a tax return you will get the rebate automatically.
The letters were aimed at people who may not usually file a return but may qualify for the rebate, because filing a return is the only way to get the rebate.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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My brother has an internship that pays significantly above minimum wage. Additionally, scholarship money is taxable under certain circumstances. I didn't make enough last year to pay federal tax, so I wouldn't qualify anyway. But there are plenty of people who do, and it's odd to disqualify those people just because of dependency.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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